Metsarahva kujunemine. Retrospektiivne vaade müüdiloomele
The myth of Estonians as a forest people. A retrospective view

Summary/Abstract: Contemporary Estonian identity includes a motif of Estonians as a nature-loving forest people. Although not original – its equivalents can be found across Europe – the motif describes Estonians as having a unique relationship with the local forest, reaching back to the ancient times. The article tracks down the formation of this motif and identifies the most important factors of intellectual and social history that have contributed to its development. An insight is given into the structure and subgenres of national narratives, how do they relate and support each other, and how they change. As for the forest nation trope, the concept of ethnicized forest can be followed back to the early 19th century German Romanticism, from where it was imported to the Baltics. Yet, this set of ideas was lingering in the background for more than a century – we were able to find the earliest reference linking the Estonian nation and its special relationship with forest only from the 1930s. During the Soviet period this link was strengthened by presenting Estonians as a Finno-Ugric nation, originating from the forest belt; Concurrently, a number of nature writers developed an intimate style of describing human-nature relationships. From the practical side, the development of organized nature-tourism and the means of transportation made the “active nature-relationship” possible. Eventually, the trope of Estonians as the forest nation was formulated in the 1980s, in the form of an eco-nationalist understanding of a deep mutual involvement between Estonian nature and Estonian culture. In the 2000s, this link acquired a religious dimension as the contemporary neopagan community has successfully popularized the idea that protecting Estonian nature will also protect Estonian cultural heritage. Following the concept of the extreme secularization of Estonia has given rise to another thesis that forest is the real church for Estonians. As a grande finale, the past decade has witnessed several cases where nation, culture and nature are understood as a uniquely intertwined entity, the forest nation.

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